Limpopo´s Seshego Hospital was turning away all new patients
today after a dismissed driver gunned down four senior staff -
including the hospital´s chief executive officer.

It was also transferring all patients already being treated in
the hospital to the neighbouring Mankweng and Pietersburg
hospitals, said Limpopo health and social development spokesman
Phuti Seloba.

He said the driver arrived at the hospital early on Friday to
collect his letter of dismissal issued after a disciplinary
inquiry found him guilty of a hit-and-run in a hospital car
during the public service strike in June.

He was traced through a hubcap which fell off the car at the
scene of the accident - in which a person died.

The man was accompanied to the hospital´s administration building
by a guard, but overpowered him and grabbed his gun, said Limpopo
police spokesman Senior Superintendent Motlafela Mojapelo.

He shot the chief executive officer dead "behind her desk", said
Mojapelo.

He then killed the human resources manager, the administration
officer and an administration worker.

He fled, but was caught at the gate with the gun in his hand by
the police.

He had been arrested on four counts of murder and was being held
at the Seshego Police Station, said Mojapelo.

The names of the woman and three men shot dead were being
withheld until their next-of-kin were notified.

Seloba said the offices where the shooting took place had been
cordoned off and staff had no access to hospital records.

It was not even known with certainty how many people were in the
hospital.

The facility´s social workers and psychologists had separated
staff into groups - those who witnessed the shooting and those
who did not - and were counselling them.

He believed hospital operations would return to normal by next
week. In the meantime, the two neighbouring hospitals were
believed to have enough capacity to take Seshego Hospital´s
patients.

He said patients´ records would be assessed before they were
transferred.